Before hitting the ice for practice at Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids Griffins coach Curt Fraser pulled the 22-year-old center into his office to inform him that he had been recalled by the parent club Detroit Red Wings.

Andersson will make his NHL debut tonight against the St. Louis Blues, playing wing on the fourth line with former Griffins Cory Emmerton and Justin Abdelkader.

Andersson will replace Tomas Holmstrom, who will miss at least a week with a strained groin.

“Fun news that Curt told me this morning,” Andersson said with a big smile on his face. “I’m real excited. It’s going to be a lot of fun to get up there.”

Andersson is fifth on the team in scoring with 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) to go with a plus-1 rating and 16 penalty minutes in 29 games.

He started the season a little slow with seven assists in the first 14 games, but has emerged as one of the Griffins’ top threats ever since he had two goals in a Nov. 18 loss to San Antonio.

“I’ve been waiting for this to happen for a while,” Fraser said. “Andy has earned this opportunity. He’s been our most consistent player for a long time.

“You look at what he does for us, killing 5-on-3s, playing in last minutes, scoring big goals when we need them and our team is in trouble. When our team hits a rough patch, he stands out every night because he knows we need him. I hope he does great when he plays tonight.”

Andersson has become a bigger offensive contributor this year after spending much of last season as a defensive specialist and penalty killer. In 79 games, he had seven goals and 15 assists.

He’s enjoyed increased playing time this season, along with a regular role on the power play, but wasn’t sure if that would result in a recall.

“Of course I hope for it because that’s where I really want to play, of course, in the NHL,” Andersson said. “But I didn’t know, I just kept playing hard. It’s been great to play, like, 20 minutes a game. I feel like I got a lot better these past 30 games.

“It’s a dream come true, obviously, to play in the NHL with the Red Wings. It’s huge.”

Andersson, who will wear No. 63, hopes to mesh well with his fellow Swedes in Detroit. But he said there’s one area that won’t be an issue: nerves.